5 Things You Didn’t Know about IT in Cluj-Napoca

Cluj-Napoca, the heart center of Transylvania, Romania is home to some of the largest IT companies in Romania. As a Cluj-based IT recruitment company, we have to say that if you want to start an IT business in Romania or IT outsource here, then Cluj-Napoca is where you should look into first. And for this, we believe there’s a few things that you can learn about the city of Cluj-Napoca related to the IT industry. So, here are 5 interesting facts about the IT in Cluj-Napoca we’re absolutely sure you would like to know! Let’s begin!

#5 The Largest and The Best University in Romania

Although Cluj-Napoca is the 2nd largest city in the country, The Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca is the largest one in Romania. With over 41.000 students in 2015, coming here from all over the country to enroll at the most reputable and important university in Romania, The Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca will celebrate 100 years of existence in 2019, although its early beginnings go back to 16th century AD. According to a report issued by the Ministry of Education in 2016 entitled The National Metaranking University Exercise Report, out of the 92 active universities in the country, The Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca is the best in the country.

#4 The First Student IT Hub Has Opened in Cluj-Napoca

UBB IT HUB, the first student IT Hub in Romania has officially started at the beginning of this month, February 1st 2018. The aim of the first student IT hub in Romania is accelerate the digitalization of the Romanian higher education system. For this, the students that will take part in the hub want to develop a software that allows online housing management of the Babeş-Bolyai University dorms and another one to enable automatic accommodation for each student, by taking into account personal preferences.

#3 Cluj-Napoca Has The Most Dynamic IT Scene in Romania

The capital Bucharest concentrates the largest number of IT companies and around half of the sector's employees nationwide, but Cluj-Napoca seems to be the most dynamic IT center. The relative growth rate for 2011-2016 in Cluj County was 81%, well above to that in Bucharest (38%), according to an Encore Research study.

The number of IT companies in Cluj-Napoca in 2017 has grown by over 75% compared to 2011, well above the national average. The 1,235 IT companies in Cluj-Napoca have 14,036 employees, accounting for 8.7% of the total employees of Cluj-Napoca (161,610 in 2016 - according to INS data). Thus, 1 out of 11 Cluj employees work in IT. If we take into consideration other forms of work collaboration (PFA, small enterprises), the number of Cluj-Napoca citizens working in IT was exceeding 20,000 by 2016.

#2 One of The Best Faculty for IT Specialists in Romania

The Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, The "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iași and The Economic Studies Academy of Bucharest are the educational institutions that produce the best IT specialists, according to the results of the People Centric "Challenges for Programmers" competition. In 2015 The European Union has renewed the list of 850 top universities in the world. The list included ten Romanian University, out of which The Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca was number 1 and The Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, was number 4, and the first technical university on the list.

#1 The People of Cluj-Napoca

In 2013, Cluj-Napoca was ranked #1 friendliest city in Europe, according to a study by the European Commission that evaluated 79 EU cities. The EUROSTAT study revealed that 91% of Cluj-Napoca inhabitants have a positive perception regarding foreigners coming to or living in their city. In 2017, the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Project "100% Youth City - Quality Label for Youth Friendly Cities" Cluj-Napoca has received the European recognition as being the 100% youth friendly city. In 2015 Cluj-Napoca was the European Youth Capital thanks to the documentation supporting youth investment for sustainable and responsible urban development.

Although this aspect is not directly related to the IT in Cluj-Napoca, behind every business, every industry and university there are the people that build it up. The people of Cluj-Napoca are friendly, peaceful and when it comes to their careers, they look for continuous personal and professional development and make great and reliable specialists. As IT recruitment specialists in Cluj-Napoca, we have met these people, we know their values and ethics and we can confirm that Cluj-Napoca is a great place to start if you want to outsource IT in Central or Eastern Europe.

If you’re an IT company that wants to outsource in Cluj-Napoca, let us know if there is anything else you wish to know about the IT scene in Cluj-Napoca and we will be happy to help you! Or follow this link and see how we can help you.